So Close, Yet So Far
by tentsubasa
Summary: Armin likes Annie. But Annie likes Eren. But Eren likes Krista. But Krista likes Armin. Who'll win in this love square of parallel romances? This is a translation of a piece of Japanese fanfiction. (Modern day high school AU)
1. Chapter 1

**This is a translation of a forum-style fanfiction I found on SSNote. If you can read Japanese, go here: www…ssnote…net/archives/11185. Otherwise, read on.**

**Since this is a translation, I'm going to try to keep it as close to the format of the original, if this is considered chat format, I'm really sorry.**

**At times, there will be slash marks (e.g. / / /) at the end of sentences. That's somebody blushing. I think everything else should be pretty straightforward.**

**Disclaimer: Since this is a translation, the only thing I own is the way I chose to translate the Japanese, absolutely nothing else. And a big thank you to my friend from high school for helping me polish my translation. (^_^)**

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_Recently, I've become interested in this girl…._  
_I first began to notice her this one time during study hall._

Eren: "Hey, Armin, I don't really get this part, could you explain it to me?"

Armin: "So at this point, you do this."

Eren: "Thanks, Armin."

_Back and forth like this everyday, I'd teach Eren about whatever it was we were studying._  
_But today was different…._

Armin: *exhales* "Man, it's like Eren comes over here for help everyday."

Armin: "It's kind of a pain."

Annie: "Hey, you."

Armin: "Annie!? This is pretty unusual; you almost never come over to talk to me."

Annie: "So?"

Armin: "Haha, I guess you have a point."

Armin: "Is there something you wanted to ask me?"

Annie: "Yeah."

Annie: "Would you explain this to me? I don't really understand it."

Armin: "So here, you want to do this."

Annie: "You're pretty good at explaining things."

Armin: "Not really. I just help out Eren all the time, so I've gotten some practice."

Annie: "You're a pretty nice guy."

Armin: "I'm not that nice." *embarrassed*

Annie: "I…like that about you."

Armin: "Th-thanks."

Annie: "No, thank _you_ for helping me." *small smile*

Armin: *heart skips a beat*

_That's right. That was the moment I started liking Annie._

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**And that's chapter one. This style of fanfiction is done by posting short blurbs of the story at a time and people comment on it in real time. While the comments from the readers were sometimes interesting to read, I'm only going to be posting story content. Since each blurb is supposed to stop at that point for dramatic effect, I'm going to post each blurb as a separate chapter. So…chapters will be short.**

**If you like the story and have a Twitter account, you can tweet the original link. Unfortunately, there isn't any other way to support the original author without registering for an account on SSNote. =/**


	2. Chapter 2

_But Annie seems to be interested in someone else…._  
_That person is Eren Yeager._  
_Why do I know this?_  
_Well…a little bit ago during passing period…_

Armin: (I can't get the way Annie looked when she smiled at me the other day out of my head.) *spaced out*

Eren: "Oi, Armin, something wrong? You keep spacing out."

Armin: "No, nothing in particular. / / /"

Eren: "Weirdo."

Annie: "Eren!"

Eren: "Hey, Annie. Wanted to talk to me again?"

Annie: "Yeah…." *glances at Armin*

Armin: "Ah, uh, I'm going to get going. I'll catch you later."

Eren: "Huh? Oh, okay."

Armin: (For him to say, 'Again,' that means that for a while now….)

Armin: "…" *glances back*

Eren: "Haha!"

Annie: "/ / / / / /"

Armin: "So she _does_ like him…." *sigh*

_But I won't give up._  
_Someday, I'll get her to notice me._

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**If you like the story and have a Twitter account, you can tweet the original link. Unfortunately, there isn't any other way to support the original author without registering for an account on SSNote. =/**


	3. Chapter 3

_The next day, Eren told me this:_

Eren: "I like Krista!"

_When I heard that, I was like, "Yes!"_  
_…_

_But if Annie knew that, she'd be really down…._

_Not that telling that to Eren would do any good._  
_I feel bad for her…but I can't really do anything about it…._

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**If you like the story and have a Twitter account, you can tweet the original link. Unfortunately, there isn't any other way to support the original author without registering for an account on SSNote. =/**


	4. Chapter 4

_That day, Eren asked me this:_

Eren: "What do you think I should do?"

_Eren…I don't know what you should do…._  
_But I can say this._

Armin: "Good luck…."

_All I can do is be supportive._

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**If you like the story and have a Twitter account, you can tweet the original link. Unfortunately, there isn't any other way to support the original author without registering for an account on SSNote. =/**


	5. Chapter 5

_That day, during the break, Annie came over to me and said this:_

Annie: "Armin…today, I'm going to tell Eren how I feel."

Annie: "So I'd like to ask you something."

_When I heard that, my heart felt like it'd been stabbed…._

Armin: "Okay…."

_I couldn't say no…._

_I felt really conflicted._

_Of course I'm frustrated that the person I like is going to tell someone else that she likes him, but what really kills me is knowing that she's going to get hurt._

_But I can't just tell her she shouldn't tell Eren how she feels either…._

_While I was thinking about all this, Annie asked me this:_

Annie: "How do you think Eren feels about me?"

_To suddenly come over and ask me that of all things…._  
_This is how I responded to her:_

Armin: "I think Eren likes you too…."

Armin: "After all, he seems to really enjoy talking to you…."

_I ended up lying…._

_I'm the worst kind of scum!_  
_Doesn't this make me a demon that plays with other people's hearts?!_

_Annie, not knowing that I lied, said this:_

Annie: "I feel more confident now."

Annie: "Thanks." *small smile*

_Now I've really done it…._  
_I've gone and played with the heart of the girl I like._

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**If you like the story and have a Twitter account, you can tweet the original link. Unfortunately, there isn't any other way to support the original author without registering for an account on SSNote. =/**


	6. Chapter 6

_I couldn't concentrate in the class I had after that conversation at all…._

_While I was in this frame of mind, someone came over to check up on me: the girl Eren likes, Krista Lenz._

Krista: "Armin, did something happen?"

Armin: "Umm, sort of…."

Krista: "I see…."

Krista: "If you ever want to talk about it, I'm always happy to listen."

Armin: "Thanks."

_It was probably this kindness in her that Eren fell for…._

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**If you like the story and have a Twitter account, you can tweet the original link. Unfortunately, there isn't any other way to support the original author without registering for an account on SSNote. =/**


	7. Chapter 7

Krista: (I wonder if Armin's okay.) *spaced out*

Sasha: "Krista, is something the matter?"

Krista: "N-no, n-nothing in particular. / / /"

Sasha: "Are you sure?"

Sasha: "If there's something wrong, you can talk to me about it."

Krista: "Okay. So, the thing is, I like Armin…."

Sasha: "Well, that's obvious."

Krista: "What?!"

Sasha: "I mean you always stare at him during class."

Krista: "Ahaha."

Sasha: "I've never been in love before, though, so I don't really have any advice."

Sasha: "Sorry I can't help."

Krista: "It's okay. It's not a big deal."

Sasha: "Yeah, I'm sure everything'll be fine."

Krista: "I hope so."

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**If you like the story and have a Twitter account, you can tweet the original link. Unfortunately, there isn't any other way to support the original author without registering for an account on SSNote. =/**


	8. Chapter 8

After this and that, lunchtime rolled around.

And at last, the time had come.

Annie: "Eren! I've liked you for a long time!"

Annie: "Please go out with me! / / /"

Eren: "…Sorry, but I can't."

Annie: "What?"

Eren: "There's someone else I like, so I can't date you."

Annie: "I see…. Okay! I understand."

Annie: "I hope things work out for you."

Eren: "Thanks!"

Then, Eren left.

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**If you like the story and have a Twitter account, you can tweet the original link. Unfortunately, there isn't any other way to support the original author without registering for an account on SSNote. =/**


	9. Chapter 9

Then Annie...

Annie: "Waaaah!" *fierce, ugly crying*

Armin: "Annie…."

Annie: "Armin…you said everything would turn out fine, didn't you?"

Armin: "I'm sorry…."

Annie: "Ugh, this really sucks…."

Armin: "Annie!"

Annie: "Armin!?"

Armin: "Annie, I'm so sorry…. Even before you came to ask me for help, I already knew how Eren felt."

Annie: "You mean that…."

Armin: "Yes…I lied to you and stomped on your feelings."

Armin: "I'm really sorry!"

Annie: "Armin…."

Annie: "Don't be so hard on yourself."

Annie: "I shouldn't have asked you to tell me how Eren felt about me."

Annie: "I didn't think about what kind of position asking that sort of thing would put you in."

Armin: "No, this is my fault."

Armin: "I'm so, so sorry!" *bows*

Then, I left.

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**If you like the story and have a Twitter account, you can tweet the original link. Unfortunately, there isn't any other way to support the original author without registering for an account on SSNote. =/**


	10. Chapter 10

Now after school, Eren asked Krista to meet him on the roof….

Eren: "Krista!"

Krista: "Yes?"

Eren: "Can I ask you something?"

Krista: "Sure, what is it?"

Eren: "Y'see, I like you!"

Eren: "So please go out with me! / / /"

Krista: "I have someone else that I like."

Krista: "So, no, I'm sorry!"

Eren: "I get it. …You can go now…."

Krista: "Okay."

Tomorrow, Eren, having been rejected by Krista, would do something awful.

(He's not going to become a juvenile delinquent or anything like that.)

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**If you like the story and have a Twitter account, you can tweet the original link. Unfortunately, there isn't any other way to support the original author without registering for an account on SSNote. =/**


End file.
